ITS4Thai DRAW + iPhone and iPad Review

ITS4Thai iOS Review: iPhone + iPad

This article was originally posted on WomenLearnThai.com.

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Free ITS4Thai iPhone + iPad apps!…

Excellent! You now have a chance to win one of four free ITS4Thai apps, as well as a grand prize of all of the ITS4Thai Conversation Courses. To be eligible, leave a relevant comment below. Yes, relevant 😉

I’ve been following Stuart Towns’ ITS4Thai online learning Thai site since 2008. As early as February 2008, ITS4Thai signed up its first customer. As of 2012, over 23,000 registrations have been created. Wow. And now that the course can be accessed via an iOS app, I expect that number to explode!

From Stuart at ITS4Thai…

ITS4Thai iOS Review: iPhone + iPadThe ITS4Thai app is very unique. We have focused on great content, interactivity, and personalization at a reasonable price. So here are a few features that make it the best way to learn Thai:

  • Everyone learns at a different pace with different vocabulary, so the app and website both track the learner’s progress and gives them personalized word lists to study such as words they haven’t seen in a long time, or words that they are having trouble with.
  • The Thai learner’s progress and all game scores will sync between the website, iPhone, and iPad.
  • The app comes with two courses with six lessons each. This will teach 120 words and 15 sentence patterns that use these words.
  • Additional courses can be bought with in-app purchases for US$2.99 for Conversation Courses (vocab and sentences) and US$1.99 Vocabulary Courses (vocab only)
  • These are the same courses that are available on the ITS4Thai website. So purchases on the website, the iPhone, or the iPad will automatically sync between all devices.

At the moment the app needs an Internet connection because it’s always communicating with the ITS4Thai server to deliver the synced personalized content. We are looking into ways to enable this feature this on a future release, but for now, it’s still a great time killer in the taxi on the way to the airport 🙂

Here’s how the iPad version works:

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For more, go to the iTunes store: ITS4Thai – Learn Thai Language Conversation and Vocabulary Lessons

Stuart G Towns,
ITS4Thai Language Conversation and Vocabulary Lessons

The ITS4Thai iPhone + iPad apps review…

ITS4Thai - Learn Thai Language Conversation and Vocabulary LessonsITS4Thai - Learn Thai Language Conversation and Vocabulary Lessons - I.T.S. 4 KnowledgeThai for Beginners
Price: US$0.99
Author: I.T.S. 4 Knowledge Co., Ltd.
Date: July 22, 2012
Version: 2.1
Internet connection required: Yes
Word count: 120
Thai script: Yes
Tone tips: Yes
Zoom: Not needed
Size: 76.8 mg
Sound: Yes, male and female
Quiz: Yes

As Stuart has already given an overview of the app I’ll focus on my experiences so far.

When I first loaded the ITS4Thai iOS app I switched the controls to Thai script. At the moment there’s still transliteration in the instructions but Stuart says it’ll be fixed on the next update (a couple of days from now).

I’ve had access to ITS4Thai since 2008 (2009?) so another change I made was to reset the course to the beginning. Some Thai learners (such as myself) often study in starts and stops so having a clean slate might be of interest. To do so, contact Stuart through the ITS4Thai website.

The basic Introductory Course includes Introductory Conversation and Introductory Vocabulary. Each course has a lesson list, and at the very bottom is a review section. When you start a lesson you’ll see two main listings: Vocabulary and Conversation. Under Vocabulary there is: Word List, Word Practice, and Listening. Under Conversation: Grammar, Sentences, and Sentence Builder.

Word List is where you listen while reading each word (Thai script or transliteration). Flag any words for a later review. Grammar and Sentences are read only.

Word Practice, Listening, and Sentences Builder are where the games begin and the scoring starts. Getting an answer right or wrong will be reflected in your score with a percentage. If you need more practice in any of the games, select Word Practice, Listening, or Sentences Builder straight away (without leaving the lesson you are working on). Clicking the buttons ‘try all again’ and ‘try missed again’ will not change a bad score; they are there to give you more practice. If you want the chance to get a better score, you need to back out of the lesson (not just the game) and then return. Replaying the game will change your score.

The questions in the review are potluck. You don’t get the same questions each time, which is great and (I imagine) can be scary at the same time. Your score is a way to see how far you’ve come in each course (not just individual lessons).

The entire ITS4Thai course is designed to put Thai vocabulary and phrases into your long-term memory. It does that by remembering the strengths and weaknesses you’ve shown when playing the games. So think of the Dashboard as your long-term memory quickstart. In Dashboard you get direct access to what you’ve accomplished so far, as well as what you still need to work on: xx seen words, xx mastered words, xx flagged words, xx almost mastered words, xx words older than two weeks, and xx struggling words. In flagged, almost mastered, older words, and struggling words, you need to have at least 8 words in each group before you can start practicing them.

I’m still playing around with ITS4Thai’s iOS app on both the iPad and the iPhone but I can tell it’s a winner. My weaknesses (that I’ll admit to anyway) are reading the higher numbers and there’s already a marked improvement in my scores. Yeah!

The free ITS4Thai iPhone + iPad apps draw…

As with previous draws, the contest will stay open until Sunday evening, 8pm Thai time. On Monday morning I’ll announce the winners. Leave as many comments as you like – each relevant comment will be entered into the draw.

Good luck everyone! The ITS4Thai iPhone + iPad app is a grand app to have.

24 thoughts on “ITS4Thai DRAW + iPhone and iPad Review”

  1. I’m excited to use this app. It looks like an awesome piece of software. Either I’ll win a copy or be buying it.

    Reply
  2. Meg, being in Thailand is great motivation indeed 🙂 I hope you’ll enjoy the app as I have. It’s simple (after you understand the scoring) and easy to get around. Good luck!

    Reply
  3. Thanks for this, Catherine. I am starting to seriously get back into the Thai study after some time away from it, and I need to brush up on the basics and I think this app would be helpful. I am now in Thailand doing fieldwork for my PhD, so the motivation, and need, to learn has returned! As I am a student funds are limited so it is nice to have your reviews to gather more info before purchasing apps and other resources.

    Reply
  4. Cat, you always have something going on…I’ll write up a post directing people over to you because this is definitely a nice app to have me thinks.

    Reply
  5. Edw, the lessons are broken into subjects which means you can concentrate on what you want to learn. If you want to see what’s on offer, check out their courses. Each one has a sample lesson plus lesson list.

    Reply
  6. If there are different categories for Thai words, it will be more easy and interesting for learning.

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  7. Lawrence, it’s definitely for beginners and/or those wanting to brush up on their reading skills. I asked Stuart about more advanced materials and he mentioned that he’s batting around a few ideas.

    Reply
  8. I signed up for that site quite a while ago, but I didn’t really find it very useful as someone beyond the basics of Thai. It could be a good resource for the very beginner, but I don’t really know. From what I could tell, there wasn’t any way to actually preview what you would be getting in the new lessons that you purchase. Even at $2 a pop, I couldn’t justify buying a lesson that would likely just rehash a bunch of stuff that I already knew.

    Reply
  9. Good choice Aaron. I find the transliteration confusing too! Even now I blank out when I see it.

    Btw: if you want to get practice with vowels, check out my post: e-learning at Sriwittayapaknam

    Reply
  10. It’s already set to Thai script. I thought it was best to learn how to read right from the beginning. Plus there are so many ways to romanize Thai words, it seems every book has it’s own way and is just too confusing.

    the vowels though……

    Reply
  11. Thanks for stopping by Stuart! The ability to track progress as well as weaknesses is a great benefit of the app.

    You are welcome Aaron 🙂 It’s good for intermediate practice as well so should last you awhile (just set it to Thai script).

    Reply
  12. Thank you for letting me know about this app Catherine. I downloaded it today and am enjoying it very much.
    I can see that it is going to make a valuable addition to my chest of tools for conquering the Thai language (though I am still an absolute beginner)

    Reply
  13. Hi everyone. I’m Stuart, and I have been leading the project to build ITS4Thai.

    To answer MV’s question, we designed the app and website to provide “bite-sized chunks” of content that are perfect for a quick study session. We see learning Thai as a long (but fun) journey of small steps. So every lesson has about 10 words and a few sentence patterns that use those words.

    The app also tracks how you do on individual words, so if you have a few minutes you can practice the few words that you are having the most trouble remembering or the words you haven’t seen in a while to make sure you remember them.

    We hope you all like the app and we are happy to hear any feedback you might have!

    Reply
  14. MV, I love my iPad and can’t imagine being without it. It’s perfect for learning languages (in a lot of ways, much better than the iPhone). Good luck and I hope you treat yourself to one!

    Reply
  15. Thanks for the quick reply and information. I’m actually considering getting an iPad, and a good Thai learning app is one of the things that is going to help sway me…

    Reply
  16. Tom, once you understand how the scoring works the app is quite simple to get around.

    MV, you can easily study with this app for 5 minutes at a time. It works on both iPhone and iPad – synchronizing your lessons as you go. So if you find yourself in a taxi or waiting in line somewhere, then the iPhone would be the one to use. At home or in an office, the iPad would come into play. That’s unless you don’t mind dragging the iPad around (I do on long trips).

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  17. This looks pretty good. Is it the kind of thing that I could pick up and do for five minutes a few times a day, or would I need to set aside a larger block of time to complete a lesson?

    Reply
  18. I’m excited to look at your new app. I have several Thai apps on my IPhone but most are so confusing that I have given up on them. ITS4Thai looks to be a fun app that I can use anytime. I can not wait to get started.

    Reply
  19. Good to know. I’ll see if I can get a copy from Alliance Française in Bangkok. I’m always on the lookout for decent, more modern phrases and vocab.

    Reply
  20. No, there something new. The new edition of ใครขายไข่ไก่ or Méthode de thaï pour francophones (Method to learn thai for French speaking people) It is a book from two teachers at the Alliance Française in Bangkok. Big book, 10 large lessons (230 pages full size), full of quite longer texts than Assimil, and more modern vocabulary too. and full of exercices to make you read, write and speak. Comes with two CD of the audio. 1250 baths at the French Consulat in Chiang Mai where I bought it.

    Reply
  21. Hi Bernard, in the Thai learning market English is certainly King. The only decent audio course I know for French is Assimil. There are some Japanese courses that are supposed to be quite good. But again, none (that I know of) for the iOS platform.

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  22. Hello Catherine, seems to be a very good app (but all apps are mostly for English quite fluent speakers at the base). It is not a problem for me but most of the French popele do not understand more than “hello”. Anyway, it will be nice to discover. Have a nice day.

    Reply

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